In the worst-hit state of New South Wales, authorities ordered 8,000 people to leave their homes in the inland city of Wagga Wagga, where flood waters were expected to breach an 11-meter levee and swamp houses and the main business district.

Thousands of people in Wagga Wagga moved to shelter at local schools, while the center of the town, home to around 60,000 people, was deserted on Tuesday. Continue reading.

Lukas Coch / EPA

Volunteers fill sandbags at the State Emergency Services headquarters in Wagga Wagga on March 6, 2012.

Daniel Munoz / Reuters

A rescue team navigates in a flooded road in Wagga Wagga on March 6, 2012.